In The News

Cheap Food Seen as Bygone Era by FAO and OECD

Rudy Ruitenberg June 25, 2013
The outlook for agriculture through 2022, from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, indicates that a period of low prices for farm goods is over. High energy prices, falling growth in productivity and rising demand is already leading to higher prices. Even as population growth slows in the next decade, the world is predicted to...

The China Factor in Global Rice

Samarendu Mohanty May 31, 2013
Traces of cadmium found in Chinese rice samples are expected to boost imports. In recent years, China has been a major importer of rice despite strong domestic production. Rice expert Samarendu Mohanty offers two possible reasons in the Asia Sentinel: Foreign rice is less expensive than Chinese rice, and “the government is trying to expand rice production to keep up with demand, but the rapidly...

Water, Down The Drain

Nayan Chanda April 30, 2013
Subsidies can lead to excess and waste. India is an export leader in water-intensive crops like rice and cotton due to subsidy-driven overproduction, aiming to provide low-cost grain. “Huge subsidies and wastage of food grains belie record exports and reckless use of India’s precious water patrimony,” argues Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his column for Businessworld. One study suggests...

Have It Their Way

Afshin Molavi April 18, 2013
Investors in emerging markets increasingly target iconic brands in the US. Writing for Foreign Policy, Afshin Molavi offers a long list of brands, including Heinz ketchup, Burger King restaurants and Budweiser beer with ownership, and points out that “Chinese companies – and others from emerging markets – [are] making a major push to buy American and Western brands and companies.” A poll shows...

US Rice Imports “Contain Harmful Levels of Lead”

Jason Palmer April 11, 2013
Agricultural crops can absorb heavy pollutants from soil and water. A report at the American Chemical Society Meeting suggests that rice imports from Asia, Europe and Israel, can exceed what’s called the “provisional total tolerable intake” level of lead, set by the US Food and Drug Administration by a factor of 120, particularly for Asian consumers who tend to eat more rice, reports Jason Palmer...

One Man’s Meat Is Another Man’s Poison

Nayan Chanda April 4, 2013
Advice on recipe substitutions is common in cookbooks, but diners don’t like big surprises. The food scandal in Europe exposed the ease at adding less expensive horse for beef in processed meals and the attraction of low-cost, processed foods for the poor. Europe’s horsemeat scandal won’t “reverse the global supply chain that has evolved over the last decade, bringing in efficiency and expanded...

Coffee Rust Plagues Farmers in Mexico

Frédéric Saliba April 2, 2013
Fungal diseases are a major challenge in farming, and coffee growers in Latin America must contend with coffee rust – a disease caused by the Hemileia vastatrix, an orange dust that causes the leaves on coffee bushes to fall away, reports Frédéric Saliba for Guardian Weekly. “The crisis seems particularly serious in Central America, with a state of emergency already in force in Honduras, Costa...